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Welcome to Morcan Books & Films, the blog devoted to providing a unique perspective and intelligent commentary on books and films. It includes commentary on our own books and films – i.e. novels and screenplays co-written by the Morcans, and feature films produced by, or in development with, Morcan Motion Pictures.
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Membership of our new discussion group Silent World on Goodreads.com is growing rapidly. Established as a place to discuss all the unique aspects of Deaf culture as highlighted in our new release thriller Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes), it’s also a meeting place of sorts where Deaf and hearing people can engage and learn from each other.

In researching Silent Fear over many years, we discovered the Deaf community really is a unique and diverse global community. We trust the book, and the group it has inspired, will encourage members to share other books (and films) by or about the Deaf, and even inspire other storytellers to include Deaf characters in their works. (It has been our observation there is a dearth of Deaf characters in literature, cinema and television).

We also hope the Silent World group will eventually become an interactive discussion platform for the Deaf community, and encourage deeper engagement between Deaf (and hard of hearing) and hearing people.

The pre-Christmas giveaway of our new release thriller paperback Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes) ends December 23 PST. It’s open to members of Goodreads.com – wherever in the world you are!

Be in to win paperback… Entries close soon.

Scotland Yard detective Valerie Crowther is assigned to investigate the murder of a student at a university for the Deaf in London, England. The murder investigation coincides with a deadly flu virus outbreak, resulting in the university being quarantined from the outside world. When more Deaf students are murdered, it becomes clear there is a serial killer operating within the sealed-off university. A chilling cat-and-mouse game evolves as the unknown killer targets Valerie and the virus claims more lives.

News Release: November 23, 2017 — New Zealand-based film production company Morcan Motion Pictures announced this week production of one of the films on its development slate received a boost with the successful international release of the crime-thriller Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes).

Book’s launch a success.

Co-authored by father-and-son writing team Lance and James Morcan, Silent Fear has attracted critical acclaim since its launch as a paperback and Kindle ebook on Amazon.

Amazon Top 500 reviewer Susan Elliot describes it as “A riveting crime novel.” Elliot writes, “There is so much to like about this book: the plot, the pace and the characters all came together in the most riveting crime novel that I’ve read in a long time.” She warns readers, “Do not read it on a train. You may just miss your station.”

Amazon Australia Top 50 reviewer Todd Simpson describes Silent Fear as “Simply Splendid.” Simpson writes, “There is so much to love about this entertaining and well written murder mystery…Hands down this is a wonderful book, and well worth a read.”

The Morcans, who are adapting their novel to a feature film screenplay, added Silent Fear to their production company’s development slate several years ago.

A spokesperson for the company says development of the planned feature film was delayed to accommodate the release of the novel. “That proved to be a wise decision,” he says, “given the interest the book is now generating for the movie.”

Set in a university in London, Silent Fear was inspired by the true-life murders of students at Gallaudet University, one of the world’s premiere learning institutions for the deaf and hard of hearing, in Washington, D.C. It was written under the guidance of Brent Macpherson, one of the world’s leading deaf storytellers working in film, television and other creative mediums. Macpherson is also co-producer on the film adaptation.

The premise of Silent Fear sees Scotland Yard detective Valerie Crowther being assigned to investigate the murder of a student at a university for the deaf in the upmarket Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The investigation coincides with a deadly flu virus outbreak, resulting in the university being quarantined from the outside world. When more Deaf students are murdered, it becomes clear there is a serial killer operating within the sealed-off university. A chilling cat-and-mouse game evolves as the unknown killer targets Valerie and the virus claims more lives.

A sequel is planned with more books in the series a possibility.

James Morcan says interest in the planned movie has already been received from film industry contacts. Speaking from Sydney, Australia, where he is based, he says the novel was crying out to be adapted because the storyline is very suited to the big screen.

“Silent Fear is a multi-genre story that has proven appeal to fans of the crime, mystery, thriller, horror, romance and sci-fi genres,” he says. “It’s exactly what movie-goers are looking for. However, we are under no illusions how difficult it is to greenlight movies so we will be aligning ourselves with a major producer to get it across the line.”

The Morcans invite expressions of interest from experienced producers.

Silent Fear is the Morcans’ eighth novel to be published under the Sterling Gate Books banner. Their other books include the international thriller series The Orphan Trilogy, and the historical adventures Into the Americas and White Spirit – both based on true stories – and Fiji.

Members of the deaf community resonate with the new release crime-thriller Silent Fear if the early reviews are any guide. Little wonder given the storyline, which is set in a university for the deaf in London, was inspired by the real-life murders of deaf students at Gallaudet University, in Washington, D.C., and was written under the guidance of a deaf consultant.

Novel resonates with deaf community.

In her 5-Star review on Goodreads, deaf educator Megan Rang says as a teacher of the deaf, she looks for literature that accurately depicts deaf characters in deaf culture. Her review follows:

“This book was also a thriller and that is a genre I am drawn in by. With a serial killer AND a flu quarantine it makes for a lot happening.

“The characters in this story weren’t the type I would fall in love with and be rooting for throughout the book. Most seemed to have issues and that added to the suspense. I had read a review that said the reader was completely thrown off guard by the outcome of this book. With that in mind I started looking more deeply at the characters and had it all figured out minus the very final twist that you can’t see coming. It made for good reading.

“I have recommended and will continue to recommend this book to others. It was worth reading.”

Amazon reviewer J.D. Denness says, “It’s not often you come across a book featuring the deaf community and even rarer for the story to be based in a school for the deaf. For the last 16 years I’ve worked at a school for the deaf so I was very interested to see how the authors did portraying this unique community. They have done a very good job, their research has been thorough and the advice they got was spot on… All in all this a very good book, one of my top reads for 2017, it is well worth the time to read.”

A solitary figure sweated profusely as he toiled away, unconcerned by the confined space of the basement he worked in or by the wooden floorboards that formed a ceiling just a metre or so above his head. Claustrophobia, it seemed, wasn’t an issue. Stretched out full length on the concrete floor, he worked by the light of a torch he’d left resting beside him. His full attention was on filling a hole, brick by brick, in a wall that dissected one corner of the basement.

It was a painstakingly slow process. He was a thinker and a planner, not a bricklayer or labourer. Even so, he understood the basics of bricklaying and he was blessed with a certain amount of natural strength, and this was helping him now. To protect his hands, he wore a pair of snug-fitting, black, leather gloves not unlike driving gloves.

A little research was all it had taken to familiarise himself with the rudiments of bricklaying. The upshot was he used quick-mix cement. Three parts sand to one part masonry cement. That’s what the supplier’s instructions had stated, but he’d added an extra spadeful of cement for good measure because he felt it needed that.

The instructions also advised using fine-grade masonry sand and fresh masonry cement preferably from an unopened bag. That he hadn’t managed because he didn’t want to be seen purchasing the product, and so he’d had to use what was available. And what was available was a half-used bag of course-grade masonry. Touch wood, it was doing the job – so far at least.

“Mix only what you need” the instructions had read. He’d estimated half a wheelbarrow-full would do it with some to spare, so that’s the amount he’d mixed. Because of the basement’s low head-clearance, he’d had to pour the mixture into buckets – six of them – and drag them one at a time to his cramped workplace.

Two extra trips had been required, including one to fetch a bucket of water. He was using the water to keep the cement from setting before applying it. The other trip had involved dragging the object he was now concealing from a room on the lower floor of the building directly above his head. That had required the most effort as the object weighed almost as much as he did.

The instructions had also recommended the addition of lime to the mixture – “to bond and strengthen the stonework you are building,” according to the supplier’s instructions. He didn’t have any lime, and that had bothered him initially. Now, as he saw how well the cement was bonding with the bricks, he relaxed a little. Easy, he thought. Like falling off a bike.

He was quite proud of his trowelling technique. It improved with the laying of each brick, but it was tricky and he found he had to focus.

“Hold the trowel at a ninety degree angle,” he’d been advised, but he had quickly discovered ninety degrees was a bit too ambitious in the confined space. It wasn’t as if he could work standing up. Lying down, seventy degrees or thereabouts was the best he could manage with the trowel, but that was sufficient.

The main challenge, he’d discovered, was ensuring the quick-mix cement in the buckets didn’t set before he could apply it. Premature setting was only avoided by regular application of water, which he dispensed by using his trowel to transfer small amounts from the water bucket to the other buckets and then giving their contents a good stir. It required some effort, and despite the basement’s cool temperature he found he was sweating more with each passing minute.

Ever so gradually the hole in the brick wall grew smaller as he laid more bricks.

Despite what was at stake, he worked at a leisurely pace, all the while thinking. That was something he did a lot these days. Thinking, that is.

The hole was now so small he could hardly see the object he was concealing. Only the deceased’s face was visible, covered by the transparent plastic bag he’d used so effectively to cut off the other’s air supply just thirty minutes earlier.

He smiled at the memory of the deceased’s final moments. Those last seconds when the young man had recognised his attacker and realised he was about to die.

Beautiful…poetry in motion…slow motion.

Oh how he loved the exhilarating, orgasmic-like feelings he’d experienced as the life of another was snuffed out. He willingly embraced them as he relived the moment. It was as if the helpless young man before him was still dying.

Studying the deceased now, or what he could still see of him at least, he recalled how he’d laughed uproariously just before death came to his victim. The visuals replayed over and over in his mind. He remembered how the veins in the young man’s eyeballs, face and neck appeared to burst as he was deprived of air, and how fragile he’d looked – like a child being tortured.

The icing on the cake had been when he’d used his hands to communicate a final message via sign language. He could still see the look on his victim’s face when, seconds before death came, he realised what was being communicated to him. It was a look of total horror, which was somehow more accentuated when viewed through the transparent plastic bag. That had made this killing even more satisfying.

What he had communicated was simple yet definitive: “Game over!”

As he relived what happened, it felt like every cell in his body was jumping for joy. It was as if his very DNA had been created for one purpose and one purpose only: to kill.

He had been planning the murder these past six months. In fact, he’d first thought of killing him years ago, but it required time for those thoughts to solidify into a plan – a concrete plan in more ways than one.

Now that he’d acted, he wondered why it had taken him so long. It wasn’t as if he was afraid or anything like that. He’d delayed because he couldn’t decide exactly how he wanted the young man to die. Bludgeoning, shooting, stabbing, poisoning, gassing, drowning had all been considered. Finally, he’d opted for suffocation. Why? He couldn’t really say. Certainly he wanted to watch him suffer. And he wanted to prolong his suffering. But stabbing or poisoning or any number of methodologies could have achieved that.

Looking at him now, the killer knew he’d made the right decision. The deceased’s tortured face seemed distorted inside the plastic bag that covered his head, and his sightless eyes still registered the intense fear he’d experienced in his final ghastly moments.

Studying him in the torchlight, he felt his manhood hardening beneath him. He removed one of his gloves then, raising his pelvis off the floor, he reached down and began pleasuring himself, all the while looking at his victim.

Satisfaction arrived quickly and he groaned as he came.

Recovering his composure, he donned his glove and resumed working.

It wasn’t long before the hole was completely bricked over. He shone his torch on the wall and inspected his handiwork.

Perfect.

The newly laid bricks aligned flawlessly with the older bricks. That was no accident because he’d used identical surplus bricks the building’s owner had thoughtfully left in the basement. Finally, he cleaned up, removed his gloves and then began crawling back the way he’d come, taking his buckets and work tools with him.

As he departed, he knew he’d need to kill again. And soon. He had to experience those wonderful feelings again.

He was confident he wouldn’t have long to wait; his master plan was already in motion.

#

Want to read more? The Silent Fear paperback is available now via Amazon; the Kindle ebook can be pre-ordered now and will be auto-delivered to your Kindle on October 31.

Silent Fear, which is set in a university for the deaf in London, is dedicated to the many millions of deaf people around the world.

Scotland Yard detective Valerie Crowther is assigned to investigate the murder of a student at a university for the Deaf in London, England. The murder investigation coincides with a deadly flu virus outbreak, resulting in the university being quarantined from the outside world. When more Deaf students are murdered, it becomes clear there is a serial killer operating within the sealed-off university. A chilling cat-and-mouse game evolves as the unknown killer targets Valerie and the virus claims more lives.

See what the critics are saying:

★★★★★“Can you hear me now? What a great story! I didn’t figure out who the killer was until the last chapter, and it still had a surprising twist! I had to read the book in one sitting!”-bccopanos

★★★★★“Whoa! What a ride. Excellent book, well constructed, and with brilliant delivery. Great to have a female lead character who is: clever, resourceful, and adaptable. And love requited – or is it? Loved it. The re-romance of the central characters was engaging…(a) bewitching book.”-Jonno

★★★★★“Spellbinding! I couldn’t put it down…The characters are very realistic and are described so well, they take root in your mind and become alive. The plot has so many twists and turns. Just as you think you have it figured out, they throw another twist in which sets you off in a different direction.”-P. Blevins

Like this:

Detective Valerie Crowther, the feisty heroine of our new release crime-thriller Silent Fear, is not one to mince her words. Here’s a random selection of statements our Val makes in the course of the novel…

Deaf New Zealand filmmaker Brent Macpherson, of Stretch Productions, features prominently in the Acknowledgements for our new release crime-thriller Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes) – and for good reason: the story is set in a university for the Deaf, and Brent educated us on the unique challenges facing the Deaf community and corrected potentially embarrassing errors in our portrayal of Deaf and hard of hearing people.

Brent Macpherson…acknowledged in new release novel.

As one of the world’s leading Deaf storytellers working in film, television and other creative mediums, Brent’s passion for bringing to life stories about diverse people, including those in his own Deaf community, really rubbed off on us. Without his assistance this novel may never have been completed!

His commentary on Silent Fear from a Deaf reader’s viewpoint is included at the end of the book.

Here’s Brent’s unabridged commentary on Silent Fear:

Silent Fear is one of the few mainstream novels to address the unique challenges faced by members of the Deaf community in any great detail. As a member of that community, and as someone who has been Deaf since birth, I believe this book is an important addition to the dearth of literature that exists about Deaf people and Deaf culture.

In the interests of full disclosure, let me state from the outset I have a vested interest in this book: I liaised with the authors in a consultancy capacity to ensure their treatment of the novel’s (fictitious) Deaf characters and the often unique issues they and their family members face were handled accurately and with sensitivity.

The novel provides a valuable insight into the dynamics of the international Deaf community all in one setting. It highlights a wide range of Deaf cultural elements and behavioural characteristics that are unique to members of the Deaf community.

As you’ll have noticed, sign language features prominently throughout. Members of the wider society may have seen Deaf people signing which is often perceived as a different form of communication. This perception is only a small part of the proverbial iceberg: below water, it’s much deeper and more meaningful to be Deaf.

Like myself, most Deaf people acquire sign language at a school for Deaf. In my case, I attended Kelston School for the Deaf in Auckland, New Zealand, at the age of five and subsequently learnt NZ Sign Language (NZSL) from older students. I became disruptive at a ‘normal’ kindergarten and teachers didn’t have a clue how to cope with me. It was decided that I would attend a Deaf school. To do so, I had to catch a taxi and a bus (the famous white bus) to Kelston for the next four years. These trips would be an hour-and-a-half each way so around three hours a day was spent exclusively in the company of many deaf children of all ages.

Reflecting upon how I personally learnt NZSL, those bus trips have renewed meaning for me. It was a unique time for Deaf students to be able to freely use sign language to communicate away from the gaze of disapproving teachers. We didn’t need to hide from them or from our parents. The bus became a relaxing comfort zone where a hidden education flourished. It was a cultural hub on wheels! Signing in the bus was regarded as an ‘underground language’ away from glaring eyes of the public so we could pass on our language to the younger generation.

Sign language was forbidden during my days at the school for the Deaf. If teachers caught us signing in the classroom, they would use a large wooden ruler to strike our hands and then force us to sit on them for the rest the day. Nevertheless, we cleverly found ways of using sign language. Ways that came naturally to us. We hid from teachers during playtime to sign to our peers. I recall hiding in the toilet to be able to sign one of my friends without being caught.

My proud identity as a Deaf person stems from attending a Deaf school and undertaking those long, enjoyable daily bus trips. Today, many of those students are still close friends of mine.

I was mainstreamed to a hearing school at age nine and will never forget my first day at my new school: I was completely cut off from my Deaf friends and was swiftly assimilated into the hearing world. It was totally alien to me.

My soul, identity and pride as a Deaf young person were stripped away in a flick of a switch.

I had to act and speak like a hearing person to fit society’s norm. I struggled with enormous internal conflicts, and these contributed to a sense of identity confusion. People would often comment, “Oh, Brent, you speak very well.” Yes, thank you, but what about my Deaf friends and sign language? I miss them.

Back then, society viewed deafness as a deficiency or an inadequacy – and, to a large extent, it still does. Of course, my parents thought putting me in a hearing school was best for my education. This was based on advice they received from ‘experts’ in deaf education.

A few years after leaving school, I reconnected with the Deaf community at the Auckland Deaf Society. Ah, this was, and is, where I belong. I met many of my long lost friends from primary school there; I immediately felt re-engaged with my identity as a Deaf person.

I am Deaf – period!

The room was full of diverse Deaf people of all ages signing, telling stories and jokes, laughing, having a few drinks, playing pool, enjoying each other’s company – like one happy family. After more than a decade not being allowed to use NZSL, I was amazed I could still remember the signs, and I was able to quickly relearn my natural language. After all those years of identity confusion, I felt re-energised and enthused, having rediscovered my suppressed Deaf identity and I embarked on a journey into the Deaf world where I belong.

The Auckland Deaf Society is at the heart of the NZ Deaf community just as many other organisations around the world are performing similar roles. Each Deaf community is a cultural group which shares a sign language and a common heritage. Members of Deaf communities the world over identify themselves as belonging to a cultural and linguistic group. Identification within the Deaf community is a personal choice and is usually made independent of the individual’s hearing status.

The Deaf community is not automatically composed of all people who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. It is not limited to those who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. It may also include family members of Deaf people, sign language interpreters and people who work or socialise with Deaf people and who may display characteristics of Deaf culture. A non-deaf person may become member of the Deaf community by accepting and recognising Deaf culture, and this is usually strongly associated with competence in using sign language.

Deaf people as a linguistic minority have a common experience of life, and this manifests itself in Deaf culture. This includes beliefs, attitudes, history, norms, values, literary traditions and art shared by Deaf people. My language and culture includes body language, facial expression and hand shapes, which all constitute sign language. Behavioural characteristics associated with sign language and Deaf cultural norms are the heart of having Deaf identity. All these elements are critical components for this novel to ensure the Deaf characters portrayed are authentic.

In writing Silent Fear, the Morcans should be commended for the tremendous amount of effort they have invested in researching and ultimately understanding and appreciating the dynamics of Deaf culture and sign language.

The writers strongly recommended I reveal to you that, as Deaf readers will no doubt have noticed, they (the Morcans) have used lower case “deaf” throughout the novel when referring to Deaf characters and to the Deaf community in general – their rationale being that mainstream novelists and newspapers do not (generally) apply the upper case ‘rule’ when referring to this community and its members. This was the one issue we disagreed on…

Enough said.

I am proud to have been a part of this journey and have put my heart and soul into this novel, working closely with the Morcans. The process has been methodical and well considered to ensure the novel captures the essence of being Deaf. I sincerely believe Deaf and Hard of Hearing on a global scale will easily relate to Silent Fear, and I am sure will be enjoyed by all.

The end result is a story, which, in my humble opinion, does justice to the Deaf community.